Signal reproducing system

• US 20050144344A1
• Filed: 12/17/2004
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Koyata, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,676,844 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/72
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00137 involving measures which result in a restriction to contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier to authorised users
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00666 involving a step of erasing or nullifying data, e.g. data being overwritten with a random string

Abstract

Based on user identification data transmitted together with a compressed data from a portable reproducing apparatus, if an apparatus recognizes that a user who purchased and downloaded the compressed data is the same as a user who owns the apparatus, the audio apparatus stores and holds the compressed data after reproducing the signal from the compressed data by the decoder unit and the data processing unit. Alternatively, if it recognizes that the user who purchased and downloaded the compressed data is not the same as the user who owns the apparatus, it removes the compressed data after reproducing the signal from the compressed data by the decoder unit and the data processing unit.

Claims

1. A reproducing system comprising a first reproducing apparatus and a second reproducing apparatus for reproducing a signal from content data, wherein:

the first reproducing apparatus comprises;

a storage means for linking and storing the content data to be reproduced and propriety data indicating whether the second reproducing apparatus has propriety of storing and holding the content data; and

a transmitter for transmitting the content data stored in the storage means and the propriety data corresponding to the content data to the second reproducing apparatus;

and

the second reproducing apparatus comprises;

a recognition means for recognizing whether the content data may be stored and held based on the propriety data, upon receiving the content data and the propriety data from the first reproducing apparatus;

and

a controller for storing and holding the content data into a storage means after reproducing the signal from the content data if the recognition means recognizes propriety of storing and holding the content data, and for deleting the content data after reproducing the signal from the content data if the recognition means recognizes no propriety of storing or holding the content data.

2. The reproducing system according to claim 1, wherein the second reproducing apparatus reproduces a signal of higher quality than the first reproducing apparatus from the content data.

3. The reproducing system according to claim 1, wherein:

the propriety data includes user information indicating an owner of the content data; and

the recognition means of the second reproducing apparatus decides whether a user indicated by the user information in the propriety data and a user as owner of the second reproducing apparatus are identical and, if decided that the users are identical, recognizes the content data may be stored and held.

4. A reproducing apparatus comprising:

a recognition means for recognizing whether content data may be stored and held based on propriety data indicating whether the reproducing apparatus has propriety of storing and holding the content data, upon receiving the content data and the propriety data; and

a controller for storing and holding the content data into a predetermined storage means after reproducing a signal from the content data if the recognition means recognizes propriety of storing and holding the content data, and for removing the content data after reproducing the signal from the content data if the recognition means recognizes no propriety of storing or holding the content data.

5. A reproducing apparatus comprising:

a reproducing means for reproducing a signal from content data;

a storage means for linking and storing the content data, to be reproduced by the reproducing means, and propriety data indicating whether a second reproducing apparatus which can reproduce a signal from the content data may store the content data; and

a transmitter for transmitting the content data stored in the storage means and the propriety data corresponding to the content data to the second reproducing apparatus.

6. A reproducing method comprising:

a first step of recognizing whether or not a second reproducing apparatus having received content data and propriety data indicating whether the second reproducing apparatus has propriety of storing and holding content data from a first reproducing apparatus for reproducing a signal from the content data, may store the content data, based on the propriety data; and

a second step of storing and holding the content data into a storage means after reproducing the signal from the content data if it is determined that the second reproducing apparatus may store the received content data, and deleting the content data after reproducing the signal from the content data if it is determined that the second reproducing apparatus may not store the received content data.